The Gorham Mountain and Ocean Path Loop Trail is the quintessential Acadia National Park hike. At 3 miles with about 700 feet of elevation up rock steps, it’s a challenging yet easy enough hike for most people to enjoy and it features some of Acadia National Park’s most iconic sights, including the Beehive, Sand Beach, Thunder Hole, and Monument Cove.
This loop hike starts and ends at the trail head across the street from the parking lot of the beautiful Sand Beach. This is an extremely busy parking lot in the summer and fall, so I suggest parking at the Acadia National Park visitor center and taking the free shuttle to this parking lot. Be sure to check out Sand Beach before or after your hike, as it’s a must-see at Acadia!
The elevation gain begins almost immediately as you make your through the woods on the Bowl Trail. There’s no rock scrambling. You’ll be walking up on big rock steps. At about 0.25 mile is a trail junction for the Beehive Trail. Look closely and you’ll see people people making their way up the beehive.
You can go up the Beehive Loop and re-connect to the Gorham Mountain trail for an extra challenge. It would only add a half mile to your hike but pass on that and keep going straight toward Gorham Mountain if you’re afraid of heights!
At about .5 mile is another junction for the Bowl Trail and/or Beehive Trail. This is where you would reconnect to the trail if you decide to add the Beehive Loop onto this hike.
At 1 mile and about 700 feet elevation later, you’ll reach the summit of Gorham Mountain. It’s easy going from here and you’ll enjoy 360 views of the ocean and the surrounding mountains.
You’ll have an especially wonderful view of the Beehive, Sand Beach and the Great Head peninsula. If you go in October, it’s even more amazing with the vibrant fall foliage colors.
After an easy 1 mile descent, you’ll now cross the road and turn left on the Ocean Path, which follows the Park Loop Road back to where you started, but don’t walk right past some of Acadia’s best sights!
Shortly after you begin on the Ocean Path, to your right is Monument Cove, where there are dramatic rock cliffs and a rocky beach below.
Photo by Byron O’Neal on Flickr
The next sight you may want to stop at is Thunder Hole. When the conditions are just right, usually a couple of hours before high tide, you may be in for a treat. When the waves come crashing in, they make a thundering BOOM, like a blow hole. However, if you can’t hear it from the road, skip it. If you do check it out, be careful and stay on the viewing platform.
Photo by Greg Hartford on Flickr
After Thunder Hole, it’s just another half mile to the parking lot at Sand Beach, and you’ve completed this beautiful 3 mile loop. Give yourself 2 hours to complete the hike, or more if you’ll be adding The Beehive and/or The Bowl. Want to keep going? Go down to Sand Beach and hike the loop around Great Head peninsula, an easy hike at just under 2 miles round trip.
can I start at sand beach to Gorham and do the loop back on Ocean Path without doing the more strenuous Behive section?